Monday, September 5, 2011

a funny thing happened on the way to wyoming.

Namely, we got stuck in Tennessee for an extra two days. Ha! And so, to celebrate our communication error with the airline, we decided to live it up in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg for  a little while.

Confession:  I do not 100% hate the tourist trap that is Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It's nothing compared to the actual park, of course, but it's sort of, I don't know... fun. In moderation. And so, this time, my husband and I did all the hokey stuff we'd never let ourselves do before. And by "all," I mean four, because the options went beyond our budget, and I lost the Old Timey Photo debate.

First of all, we splurged a little to stay at The Inn at Christmas Place, in Pigeon Forge. Holly Jolly!

It's the creepy, high-upon-a-shelf-dwelling,
 Santa-fairy breakfast elf, complete with "crap, is he following me?" eyes!
He's been ogling that omelette station for YEARS.
The giant glockenspiel!
We had such a blast watching this thing chime the hour.
(If you look closely, you can see the little Santa coming out
of the door where the cuckoo bird would usually be.)
I can't lie, I quite enjoyed my time at the Christmas Place. The included breakfast was delicious. All the decorations made me giggle and want to run around in circles in my pjs and sing carols and talk about music boxes (interestingly, a fair description of my usual impulses).

And now, for the other things we finally did:  Oh my gosh, it's everything Ripley's! The Aquarium! Believe it or Not! Guinness World Records (which, by the way, could really use an update)!

Highlights:
Gigantic turtle bones YAY!
You can barely see it in this, but apparently sharks really do
swim near the surface, their dorsal fins cutting a wake.
Maybe you *can* believe what you see in movies!
Big picture for a BIG sea turtle. Likely the biggest I've ever seen.
Maw. Sea turtles. You're the best.  :)
The Aquarium was lots of fun, and I only got moderately creeped out. Fish give me the willies. I don't know what it is. I mean, I'm fascinated by them, but sometimes they give me nightmares. Especially the giant ones. *shudder*

Moving on.
Ah, James McCarthy. The hometown hero I never knew I had.
I feel like I've read a book about this guy.
Fifty points and a cyber hug for the first person who
can guess what this immediately made me think of.
We learned a LOT about Robert Pershing Wadlow, the tallest man in recorded history. There were three displays devoted to him in two museums.


Well, my friends, I'm cutting it pretty close tonight, after saying that I would post on Mondays and Thursdays. But, hey, I'm on vacation, right?

Oh, and yes, we did eventually make it to Wyoming. 

Note: Due to this trip, I'm not going to be able to participate in the first Campaigner Challenge, but I wish you all the happiest of writings, and I look forward to perusing all the entries. :)


16 comments:

  1. I love unexpected stops and weird but fascinating sights! Mannequins freak me out. I don't think I could handle being near the big guy.

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  2. I'd love to stay at the Christmas Place - celebrations without the stress :-)

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  3. I think that picture of you next to the world's tallest man is HILARIOUS! I hope you have fun in Wyoming! I will be there in a couple of weeks, and REALLY looking forward to it!

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  4. That bone (it is a bone, right?) looks a lot like Gumby, but maybe that's just me. Hope you're having tons of fun in Wyoming so far! :)

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  5. Ruth- You would have really been freaked out. He was animatronic! He sat down and stood up and looked around... there's an alternate picture that I didn't post because his expression was SO creepy.

    Sarah- It was so fun! And the grounds were beautiful.

    Elisabeth- Yeah, I came up to his hips. Ha! Also, you sure do travel a lot, huh? What a life. :)

    J- It *does* look like Gumby. I hadn't thought of that. You're on the right track, though, speaking of things for kids.

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  6. We were in Pigeon Forge a couple years ago-- loved the aquarium in Gatlinburg! I saw the Inn at Christmas Place, but we never did stop in there. Did you happen to make it to Wonder Works (the upside down looking house)?

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  7. That looks wonderful. It would be awesome to camp out there and write :)

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  8. Vacations are awesome. Yours is no exception. Great travel stories and pictures.

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  9. Hey guess what?You get another award (actually, TWO!) Stop on by my blog to get them! :D

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  10. Looks like a fun trip, and you got to see some cool things! Thanks for sharing the pics. And your comment on the three-legged guy...were you talking about Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children? That's what I immediately thought of. Just read it, and I loved it!

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  11. oooh, there's a Christmas hotel? I must go! The sea turtle's pretty awesome too, but we should be getting those at our local aquarium soon *crosses fingers*

    Hi there, I'm another campaigner stopping by :)

    Looks like you had lots of fun on your trip!

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  12. Your photo captions KILLED ME! So hilarious! Glad you got to have fun on the bonus part of your trip.

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  13. Sounds and looks like an awesome trip!! :)

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  14. Mmm, so, you guys are the best. That pretty much sums it up. Love and hugs for all!

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  15. I SO want to go to that Christmas place! I love Christmas. And the pictures from the museums look awesome! Holy crap, that man's tall! Looks like a great way to spend some extra time. Thanks for giving me another place to visit :)

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